Whirling toy



Aug. 30, 1960 Z. M. BRIDGES WHIRLING TOY Filed Feb. 13. 1959 INVENTOR.

ZA YE M. 59/0658,

' tion.

United States Patent WHIRLING TOY Zaye M. Bridges, Rte. 1, Blacksburg, S.C.

Filed Feb. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 793,020

6 Claims. (Cl. 46-51) This invention relates generally to toys. More particularly, in the invention has reference to a toy of the whirling type, including a closed loop which is impart ed a spinning movement, responsive to manipulation of a suspending means which is held at one end in the users hand, and which at its other end has a connection to the loop.

Summarized briefly, the top comprising the present invention includes a closed loop which can be rigid or, alternatively, of limited flexibility. The loop, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, has a web part which is of a T-shape, although said web part can have other shapes without departure'from the spirit of the inven- In the web part there is provided a slot that is disposed, over its full length off center in respect to the loop. Alternatively, a plurality of openings might be' used instead of the slot, as will be apparent from the description to be provided hereinafter. A pin is mounted in the slot, and swivelly connected thereto is a generally C-sh-aped connecting link, to which is connected an elongated, resiliently stretchable suspending member having at its upper end a handle.

By reason of the relative form and arrangement of the component parts of the toy, I propose to accomplish, among others, the following desirable purposes:

First, to provide a toy that can be manufactured at a comparatively low cost considering the highly amusing characteristics and the relatively durability thereof;

Second, to provide a toy that will be so designed as to require that the user achieve a predetermined amount of skill, thus to heighten the interest which the toy develops;

Third, to so form the toy as to permit the loop to be spun in various ways, to further increase the interest generated by the device;

Fourth, to incorporate in the device a novel type of connection between the loop and the suspension means, in the form of a C-shaped, swiveled link that has been found to produce particularly novel, unusual results when the toy is placed in operation;

Fifth, to combine with the above-mentioned, C-shaped, connecting link a resiliently stretchable suspension element with the link being of generally rigid construction, the characteristics of the link and suspension components cooperating to produce the desired, unusual action of the y;

Sixth, to associate with the C-shaped link and the suspension means a connection of the link to the loop that will permit the link to be adjusted radially of the loop, while remaining in eccentric position relative to the loop; and

Seventh, to provide a whirling toy which, by reason of the construction and operational characteristics thereof, will be designed for whirling in a selected plane, which may be anywhere within a range extending from the horizontal to the vertical, generally speaking.

Other objects will appear from the following descrip- Patented Aug. 30, 1960 tion, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a toy according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a still further enlarged sectional view on line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view, on a scale reduced below that of Figure 1, showing the toy as it appears when in use;

Referring to the drawing in detail, the toy comprising the present invention has been generally designated 10, and includes a closed, circular loop 12 which, in the illustrated example, but not necessarily, is formed of a plastic material. or alternatively, can be of slightly flexible characteristics. If flexible, however, the loop should not have such great flexibility as to prevent the same from retaining its generally planiform shape shown in the several figures of the drawing.

The loop includes a crossbar 14 integrally connected between substantially diametrically opposite portions of the loop. It is to be noted, however, that in actuality, the crossbar is not extended diametrically of the loop, but rather, is slightly off center with respect to the loop. Integral with the mid-length portion of the crossbar 14 is a leg 16 at right angles to'the crossbar, cooperating with the crossbar in defining a web part generally designated 18 in the loop. The web part, in the illustrated example, by reason of its T-shape, defines in the loop identical, but opposite, approximately quadrantal openings, and a single, roughly semicircular opening. The first-named openings have been designated 20, while the generally semicircular opening has been designated at 22.

Formed in the Web part is a slot 24. The slot is straight, and extends longitudinally and centrally of the leg 16, one end of the slot being disposed at the juncture of the leg 16 with the crossbar '14, the other end of the slot terminating short of the outer end of the leg. The slot extends radially of the loop, and over its full length is disposed eccentrically to the loop. In other words, even at its inner end, the slot does not extend to th center point of the loop.

Instead of a slot, one might desire to manufacture the device with a row of openings, but in either event, the

same result would be obtained.

A pin 26, in the illustrated example, is in the form of a bolt or machine screw, and has a head 30 overlying the web part and spaced upwardly from the web part by means of a nut 32 threaded on the pin against one face of the web part. A wing nut 34 is threaded on the screw, against the opposite face of the web part. The head and the nut are spaced apart to define therebetween a circumferential groove 36, in the pin.

A generally C-shaped, substantially rigid connector link 38 is integrally formed atits opposite ends with eyes 40, 42. Eye 40 lies in a plane common to that of the C-shaped portion 43 of the link, while eye 42 lies in a plane perpendicular to that of said C-shaped portion (see Figure 2).

Eye 42 loosely receives'the pin, extending within the circumferential groove 36, so as to swivelly mount the connector link upon the pin. In this connection, it will be observed that on loosening of the wing nut 34, the pin 26 can be adjusted on the web part, to any of various positions selectively, radially spaced from the center point of the loop. In every position of adjustment, however, the pin is eccentric to the loop.

The loop can be of rigid construction,

A suspension means for the loop includes an elongated, resiliently stretchable suspending member 44, having at its lower end a loop 46 receiving the eye 40. A stout length of rubber band material can be employed for the member 44, in a typical commercial embodiment. At its upper end, the member 44 has an eye 48 to permit the member 44 to be connected to a handle 50, said handle having a swiveled eye 52 loosely receiving the eye 48.

In use of the device, the pin 26 is located at a selected radial distance from the center of the loop. Then, with the handle held in one hand, the user imparts a a spinning motion to the loop with the other hand.

Once the loop begins spinning, it can be kept in motion by proper manipulation of the handle 50. It has been found, in this regard, that the spinning motion of the loop will continue if one imparts to the handle a rapid up-and-down movement, so that the member 44 will alternately stretch and contract, imparting, at closely spaced intervals, an upward pull to the loop through the medium of the connector link 38.

In this connection, by selective positioning of the pin or screw 26 along the length of the slot 24, different operating characteristics are produced. Thus, if the pin is at the inner end of the slot 24, that is, the end of the slot nearer the center of the loop, once the loop is started, it will begin to change its angularity to the horizontal. to turn, it may be rotating in a plane that is substantially horizontal. As the loop continues rotating, it tends to move toward a vertical plane, and may, in fact, move fully to a vertical plane. In Figure 4, the loop is shown.

In other words, when the loop initially begins necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any changes in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A whirling toy comprising a loop including a web part; means secured tosaid web part for adjustment radially of the loop; a connector link secured at one of its ends to said means; and a resilient, stretchable suspending member connected at one of its ends to the other end of 7 said link.

2. A whirling toy comprising a closed loop including a web part; a pin mounted in the web part for adjustment radially of the loop and disposed eccentrically of the loop in each position to which it is adjusted; an approximately C-shaped connector link attached at one end to the pin; an elongated, resiliently stretchable suspending member connected at one end to the other end of the link; and a handle on the other end of said suspending member.

3. A whirling toy comprising a closed loop including a web part having a slot extending in a direction generally radial of the loop, said slot being spaced over its full length from the center of the loop; a pin mounted in the slot for adjustment along the length of the slot; an approximately C-shaped connector link attached at one end to the pin; an elongated, resiliently stretchable suspending member connected at one end to the other end of the link; and a handle on the other'end of said suspending 1 member.

of the slot, the loop would tend to rotate in a plane 4. A whirling toy comprising a closed loop including a web part having a slot extending in a direction generally radial of the loop, said slot being spaced over its full length from the center of the loop; 'a pin mounted in the slot for adjustment along the length of the slot; an aping slight upward jerks to the member 44 at closely H spaced intervals. When the loop is to rotate in a horizontal plane with the pin at the outer end of the slot, the operation involves 'ones causing his hand to travel in a generally circular path in an approximately horizontal plane. In the middle position of the pin, the loop will rotate at the inclination of 45 degrees following a to the provision of a continuous slot 24, and every position tends to change the :angleof inclination of the loop, when it is in operation.

It has been found, in this regard, that the unusual operating characteristics of the device are apparently due to the relativetorm and arrangement of the component parts, and the swivel hook, designated at 38, apparently plays an important part in the operation.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof, 'described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be proximately C-shaped, generally rigid connector link swively attached at one end to the pin; an elongated, resiliently stretchable suspending member connected at one end to the other end of the link; and a handle swiveling connected to the other end. of said suspending member.

5. A whirling toy as in claim 4, wherein said web part is of T-shaped formation defining in the loop a pair of approximately qnadrantally-shaped openings and an approximately semicircular opening. 7

6. A whirling toy as in claim 5, wherein the T-shape of the web part defines therein a crossbar and a leg, the crossbar being connected between generally diametrically opposedportions of the loop and the leg being connected between the crossbar and the loop, said slot being formed in said leg. 7

178,352 895,385 Marsh Aug. 4, 1908' 2,712,7 12

Hajek et al. i July 12, 1955 

